Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches represented the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was pleased to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
